Bottles typically made of glass or plastic are used for the storage of fluids of many different types. These bottles or similar containers often have threaded caps or pop-up valve dispensing caps releasably secured to their necks, over the openings, to permit the removal of some or all of the fluid, followed by reclosure of the bottle or container. When the bottle or container is emptied, usually it is disposed of, ultimately ending up in a landfill.
Often, it is desirable to transfer the remains of the contents of one bottle or container of fluid to another. This is particularly true of containers for viscous fluids such as motor oils, shampoo, ketchup, syrup, cooking oil, etc. When a container holding any of these various types of viscous fluids is xe2x80x9cemptiedxe2x80x9d, a considerable residue of fluid still adheres to the walls and bottom of the container. Generally, the container is disposed of with this viscous fluid still clinging to its interior. The amount of viscous fluid remaining in a so-called xe2x80x9cemptyxe2x80x9d container is not insignificant. In a typical quart bottle of motor oil, approximately one ounce of motor oil remains in the container after it has been emptied into a vehicle. Since ketchup and syrup typically are sold in transparent containers, the amount of residue remaining in the bottle after it effectively has been emptied is readily apparent to the naked eye.
Very often, in the case of ketchup or other similar viscous food products, a home owner or restaurant owner places the open end of the xe2x80x9cemptyxe2x80x9d bottle over the top of a full or nearly full bottle to transfer the contents from the empty bottle into the receiving bottle. Because the ketchup or syrup (or motor oil, or shampoo) is highly viscous, the flow from one bottle to the next is very slow. In addition, a very careful balancing act is required; or a person needs to hold the two bottles together for a considerable period of time to transfer the contents of one to the other.
Attempts have been made in the past to facilitate the transfer of a viscous fluid from one bottle to another by means of some type of coupler interconnecting the two bottles. One such device is disclosed in the United States patent to Seablom U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,267. The device of this patent is designed to interconnect two ketchup bottles together. It simply comprises a sleeve, open at both ends, for receiving the tops of the upper and lower ketchup bottles. It has an expansion chamber in its center to allow air bubbles to flow upward through the downward flow of ketchup into the upper bottle as the ketchup residue flows from the upper bottle into the lower one. There is no valve in this coupler; it is simply placed over both ends of the bottles to hold them together while the upper one empties into the lower one.
The device of United States patent to Crstovic U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,824 is designed to remove oil from a catch pan and allow it to be poured into a container for subsequent disposal. A nozzle on the catch pan is interconnected with the top of the receiving container by means of a coupler, which is threaded onto both the pan and the container to interconnect them while the catch pan is poured into the receiving container. Again, no valve is used.
A different approach is disclosed in the patent to Borden U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,650. This patent utilizes a two part coupler. The coupler for the upper xe2x80x9cemptyxe2x80x9d container is in the form of a generally truncated, cone-shaped male end extending from the cap. A mating receiving funnel is threaded onto the lower receiving container; and the truncated cone-shaped projection on the upper container is pressed into the receiving funnel on the lower container to allow fluid to flow from the upper to the lower container. There is nothing in the device of this patent in the form of a valve, or for providing for air release from the lower container during the transfer of fluids.
The United States patent to Kurtz U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,763 is directed to a two-ended coupler for threading onto open matingly threaded ends of a pair of containers, such as oil containers. The coupler itself is formed with an internal funnel, with a drip guide on its lower or dispensing end, to prevent liquid draining from the inverted first container from running between the connection of the coupler with the lower container and the threads on the neck of the lower container. The drip guide is intended to cause the fluid flowing from the upper container to drip in a generally central location into the neck of the lower container. Once again, there is no provision for allowing air to escape from the lower container into the upper container, or elsewhere, and there is no valve between the two containers in the device of this patent.
The United States patent to Schrock U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,580 comprises an interconnected funnel and spout which are connected, by means of a double clamp, onto a lower and upper bottle, respectively, to allow the fluid in the upper bottle to flow through the spout into the funnel, and from there into the lower bottle. No valves are used in this device; but it does allow for the transfer of fluid from an upper container to a lower container, without requiring a person to hold the two containers in position while the transfer takes place.
Two other United States patents, to Murphy U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,639 and Silversides U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,012, are directed to relatively complex mechanisms including a valve for coupling an upper container into a lower one, and then controlling the flow of fluid between them. The coupler is airtight between the two different containers; so that air exiting the lower container as fluid is transferred into it necessarily periodically needs to bubble upwardly through the fluid being transferred from the upper container into the lower one. Murphy employs a downwardly depending conical shape of the opening into the lower container to minimize the flow of fluid outwardly toward the edge of the container during transfer. In the device of Murphy, a valve is opened by pulling the two containers apart when the caps are attached to both of them; and the valve is closed by pushing them together.
The patent of Silversides discloses a relatively complex valve mechanism for a customized application. There is no air release; so that air bubble transfer must take place from the lower container into the upper one.
The United States patent to Morris U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,142 includes threaded cap portions for attachment to each of an upper and a lower container for allowing transfer of fluid from the upper container into the lower one. The device of Morris, however, has a collapsible section between the two end caps, and requires a person to hold the containers apart to open a valve to allow fluid to flow from the upper container to the lower one. If the two containers are not held apart, the collapsible section collapses to close the valve. It also should be noted that the device of this patent requires a custom cooperating construction between the coupling device and the container being filled, since the female portion of the valve is built into the container; whereas the male portion is in the coupling.
It is desirable to provide an improved fluid recovering system for allowing the transfer of fluids, particularly viscous fluids, from one container to another by means of a simple, easily activated valve mechanism in a coupling device holding the two containers together.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved fluid recovery system.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved easy-to-use, fluid recovery device for transferring fluid from one container to another.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide an improved fluid recovery device for transferring viscous fluids from one container to another.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for transferring fluids from one container to another utilizing a simple valve mechanism between a pair of loosely joined caps to couple the container which is to be emptied onto the container which is to receive the fluid.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a fluid recovery system is designed in the form of a pair of interconnected first and second caps. The first cap is attached to the upper container; and it has an aperture through its top, with a valve located in the aperture. The second cap is loosely held onto the first cap by the valve actuator, and is designed for attachment to the receiving container; so that when the valve actuator is opened, fluid flows from the upper container into the lower container.